Roll paper dispenser



Jan; 1943. H. A. CLEMENS 2,307,994

ROLL PAPER DISPENSER Filed Sept. 28, 1940 flzeafer flew/5M5 INVENTOK ama 14m ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 12, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for holding roll paper such as toilet paper in position'for removal and furthermore for holding an extra roll in reserve in such a manner that it may be readily moved to position for use.

In establishments using a great deal of roll paper, the receptacles are usually reloaded by a caretaker who makes rounds at fixed intervals and it is customary to remove and scrap rolls which have from five to twenty per cent of the paper still unused because of the possibility that the roll will become exhausted before the caretaker makes his next round.

Even if the partially exhausted roll is set on top of the holder or otherwise made available for use, it is common knowledge that such rolls are seldom used and are eventually discarded. Such practice represents a very substantial item of waste.

It is an object of the invention to provide a receptacle which will hold a spare, full roll in a position where it can be reached by the user if required but in a position where it will not impede the complete use of the roll which is in the delivery position.

It is another object of the invention to provide a receptacle in which the partially used roll will be retained at the dispensing station until it is substantially all used.

It is still another object of the invention to provide means for permitting the removal of the core of the used roll.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide notches in the receptacle to permit manipulation of the roll which is positioned at the delivery station.

Still another object of the invention is to provide resilient means for retaining the reserve roll in the reserve position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder which can be used to dispense rolls of paper which is not perforated.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a paper dispenser provided with a, strip severing means.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a roll paper dispensing device in which delivery is from the lower front edge. v

These and other objects will appear from a study of the specification and the drawing which is attached thereto and made a part thereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the receptacle with part of the cover broken away to show the interior construction.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the device showing the resilient members and the roll manipulating openings.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the partially used and reserve rolls in their respectiv positions.

Figure 4 is a sectional view partly broken away showing a modified form of the dispenser having the delivery slot at the lower corner and a serrated lower edge.

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the device of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a front view partly broken away of a device similar to that of Figure 4 but without the serrated edge.

In Figures 1 to 3 th numerals i and 3 represent side plates which are cut away at 5 to fit up with the sloping bottom portions 1 and 9 of the front and back plates II and I3 respectively. The side plates are also provided with substan tially semicircular notches l5 for a purpose to be explained.

The front and back plates may be provided with flanges I! which may be spot welded or otherwise fastened to the side plates.

The bottom portions 1 and 9 are sloped at an angle of about forty-five degrees and are provided at their lower edges with rods I!) which are preferably about three sixteenths inch in diameter and which are tack welded or otherwise fixed to said bottom portions.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the bottom portions are provided with substantially semicircular notches 2!. The rods H! are disposed on opposite sides of these notches.

The front plate II is also provided with an elongated vertical opening 23 which extends preferably from a point adjacent the juncture of the fro-ht plate I I with the bottom portion 1 to a point about level with the axis of the reserve roll 25 as is clearly shown in Figure 3.

Two springs 21 and 29 are fixed as by spot welding their upper ends to the back plate Hi. The spring El is bent as at 31 to project toward the central portion of the receptacle and is provided with a curved end 33 so that the reserve roll will not be torn as it is worked toward the delivery station.

The spring 29 i disposed in parallel relation to spring 21 and is similarly formed.

A pair of hinges 35 support a cover or lid 31. A bolt receiver 39 is fixed to the inner surface of the cover in any suitable manner and is positioned adjacent the frontplate II. A simple lock 4| having a rotatable bolt 43 is welded or otherwise fixed into the upper central portion of the front plate I I. The bolt is adapted to be rotated by a key into and out of locking relation with the receiver so as to hold the cover in place thus preventing access to the receptacle.

Holes 45 are provided in the back plate l3 for the reception of screws or other fastening members which serve to mount the receptacle on a door or wall. The openings 45 are opposite the opening 23 so that a screw driver or other tool may be readily used upon the fastenings.

In Figures 4 and 5 a modified form of the device is shown in which the dispensing slot is formed by the front wall 5| and the edge of the bottom wall 53. This bottom wall comprises a section 55 which may be disposed at any substantial angle such as forty-five degrees with the back wall 51, and this section merges with a second section 59 which is disposed at an angle a which is between about eleven and fifteen degrees to the horizontal and which extends towards section 55. The line of intersection of these sections is preferably disposed between the central portion of the container and the back wall.

A rod 6.] is provided with frustro-conical ends so that the rod will roll freely in the holes and Will thus constitute a roller.

The free edge of the bottom section 59 is turned slightly downwardly as shown at 65 in Figure 4 and may be a plain straight edge as shown at 61 in Figure 6 or may be serrated as shown at B9 in Figure 5 so that a plain unperforated web of paper may be used and sections of the desired length may be readily torn off.

Notches H are formed in the side walls of the dispenser and permit ready removal of an exhausted roll.

A notch 13 is formed in the bottom wall section 59 so as to permit manipulation of the roll to make the free end of the paper available.

If desired, the lower end of the front wall 5| may be folded over as shown at .75 so that it will present a rounded edge and so that the wall will be stiffened and will not be readily distorted.

Operation If it is assumed that the receptacle shown in Figures 1 to 3 is empty, the caretaker by inserting the key in look 4| may rotate bolt 43 to disengage it from receiver 39 so that the lid may be lifted, whereupon a full roll with the outer wrappings removed may be forced down past the springs 21 and 29 to a position at rest upon the rods IS.

A second roll may then be placed in the receptacle and forced downwardly a sufiicient distance to permit the lid to be closed and locked.

The second roll is held in the reserve station as indicated in Figure 3 by the springs 21 and 29 which occupy the dotted line position shown in said figure. The frictional contact between the reserve roll and the springs and front wall II is sufficient to support the reserve roll at the station.

The height of the receptacle is such that the reserve roll will not contact the roll which occupies the dispensing station so that there will be no excessive resistance to the rotation of the latter roll.

The only resistance to rotation of the roll at the dispensing station is that resulting from the weight of the roll as it rests upon the rods I9. This resistance is sufficient to prevent rotation of the roll as the result of a sudden jerk. An even steady pull on the paper will not be resisted with suflicient force to cause the paper to tear. I When the lower roll is exhausted, the user may insert a finger in the core of the roll through one or the other of the end notches I5 and force it out through the dispensing slot formed by rods IS. The slot is slightly narrower than the diameter of the usual core so that the core will be distorted from the usual cylindrical shape under such pressure suificiently to permit this passage. So far as applicant has been able to determine by investigation, the cores for toilet paper are standard in both one and one-fourth inch or one and one-half inch diameters. Preferably, the slot in the bottom of the container should be made about one-fourth inch less in width than the diameter of the roll core. It should be noted that the one and one-half inch core can be extracted from a one inch slot although not quite so easily as a one and one-fourth inch core since it must be distorted more in order to effect passage.

By exerting a downward pressure on the reserve roll by means of a finger inserted in slot 23 in the front plate, the roll may be rolled downwardly to the dispensing station where it will rest upon the rods 19 as described above. The roll may then be further rotated by a finger inserted in the notch 2| to work the loose end of the paper on the roll out through the dispensing slot whereupon the roll is ready for use.

The movement of the roll to the dispensing station and the positioning of the loose end in the dispensing slot is simply and quickly achieved.

The caretaker can, on his next round, look into the receptacle through opening 23 and see whether the reserve roll is still in the reserve position and if it has been moved to the dispensing station, he can readily insert a fresh one in the reserve station.

It will be seen that with the device described,

there will be no need for wasting a partial roll since the reserve roll is readily available and there is no danger of the supply becoming exhausted prior to the next inspection.

Referring now to the modified forms shown in Figures 4 and 5, it will be seen that the dispensing station is formed by the rod El and the bottom section 59. The slope of the section 59 is sufiicient to cause the roll to gravitate toward the dispensing slot and yet it is not great enough to cause a full roll to occupy a position so far away from the dispensing slot as to make it inconvenient to work the loose end of the paper out through the slot.

The weight of the roll as it rests upon the bottom section 59 together with the friction induced by the contact of the paper roll and rod 6! under the force resulting from a pull on the loose end provide sufficient resistance to prevent the withdrawal of a great deal of paper if a sudden pull is applied thereto.

In the case of paper having a low tensile strength, it may be desirable to reduce the frictional resistance to rotation of the paper roll. In such cases, the rod 6| will be rotatably mounted in the dispenser.

Where the paper to be dispensed comes in a web which is perforated to define sheets, simple straight edges 61 such as those of Figure 6 are preferably used. Where the web is not perforated to define sheets, the serrated edges shown in Figure 5 are preferably used. Such edges assist in the tearing of the web at the selected point.

In the modifications of Figures 4, 5 and 6 the notches H in the side walls permit easy withdrawal of the core or a substantially spent roll and the notch 13 permits manipulation of the roll at the dispensing station so that the free end of the web may be projected through the dispensing slot.

It is of course contemplated that the same reserve roll structure shown in Figures 1 to 3 will. be used with the modifications of Figures 1 to 6.

While applicant has disclosed a preferred form of the invention for purposes of illustration, it is obvious that various changes may be made in the arrangement, form and construction of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, applicant does not desire to be limited to the particular forms disclosed but desires protection falling fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls and a bottom, said bottom being provided with a dispensing slot, and substantially cylindrical members disposed adjacent the edges of said slot for supporting a roll of paper.

2. A roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls and a slotted bottom, means associated with said bottom for defining a dispensing station adjacent said slot for supporting a roll and means defining a reserve station above said dispensing station, said slot and associated means having a width smaller than the diameter of a standard roll core to permit removal of a roll core upon slight distortion thereof, so that a roll at the reserve station may be moved to dispensing position at the dispensing station.

3. A roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls and a slotted bottom, means associated with said bottom defining a dispensing station, said slot and associated means being of a width smaller than the diameter of a standard roll core to permit removal of roll core upon slight distortion thereof from a cylindrical shape, the wall adjacent one end of said core terminating above the lower surface of said core to give access to said core for ejecting it.

4. A roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls and a bottom, means defining a dispensing station, comprising a slot, and roll supporting elements on both sides of said slot adjacent said bottom, said slot having a width which is less than the diameter of a standard roll core to permit removal of the roll core through said slot upon distortion of the core, the walls adjacent the ends of said slot being cut away to permit access to the ends of a roll core occupying said dispensing station to permit removal of the core.

5. A roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls and a bottom, a slot said core may be removed through said slot by distorting the core, one edge of said slot being provided with a rod defining a dispensing position for a roll adjacent said slot.

'7. In a roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls, a bottom, a web dispensing slot formed thereby, means associated with the upper ends of the walls for gripping a roll, a slot formed in one wall permitting access to the interior of said receptacle for releasing a roll from said gripping means, said bottom being formed and disposed to guide said roll into operative relation with respect to said dispensing slot, said dispensing slot being of such width as to retain a standard roll core but to permit removal of said core upon distortion thereof.

8. In a roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls, a bottom, a web dispensing slot having a width less than the diameter of a standard core of a roll to permit withdrawal of the core through the slot upon distortion of the core, a yieldable member mounted on the upper end of a Wall and directed toward the central portion of said receptacle said member being adapted to force a roll into frictional contact with the opposite wall to hold it out of operative relation with said dispensing slot.

9. In a roll paper dispensing receptacle comprising a plurality of walls, a bottom, a web dispensing and core discharging slot formed therein having a width which is less than the diameter of a standard core so that a core may be removed through the slot by distorting the core, a spring member mounted on the upper end of a wall and directed toward the central portion of said receptacle said member being adapted to force a roll into frictional contact with the opposite wall and out of operative relation with said dispensing slot, said opposite wall being formed with a slot permitting access to a roll contacted by said spring.

HERBERT A. CLEMENS. 

